14-time GRAMMY winner Ricky Skaggs is back with a full band sound, a style that made him one of the best-selling artists in Country history with an incredible string of 12 #1 Country hits and 12 Top 20 Country albums. His rousing and moving new album, Mosaic, will be released on August 24, 2010 through Skaggs Family Records and is a testament to his personal faith.
Skaggs worked closely with fellow GRAMMY winner Gordon Kennedy, known for his work with Eric Clapton, Garth Brooks and Bonnie Raitt, to create an album that mixes elements of Country music with Beatles-esque melodies and lyrics that speak to Skaggs’ faith, making “music that is in my head and in my heart,” says Skaggs.
With Mosaic, Skaggs takes his music in a new direction, reincorporating electric instruments, keyboards and drums. While the songs will resonate well with AC Radio, Skaggs hasn’t abandoned his acoustic, bluegrass roots and mixes a pop/rock/ country sound with strains of acoustic guitar, mandolin and fiddle.
The title track, “Mosaic,” signals all to realize that no matter how small we feel at times, we all have a unique place in life. “Someday Soon” opens with banjo and piano over a sturdy drum beat before kicking into a catchy chorus. Ethereal keys, hand drums, a 12-member choir and an electric guitar played by Peter Frampton, kick off album standout “My Cup Runneth Over,” while “Picture” has a lush sound accented by strings and a hammered dulcimer. And with a clever twist on the title, “Return to Sender” includes an orchestra as well as background vocals by Tommy Sims.
Following an unparalleled string of success in Country music in the 1980s and early ‘90s, including 8 CMA Awards (1985 Entertainer of the Year), platinum records and a performance at the GRAMMYS, in 1997 Skaggs created the Skaggs Family Records label and for the next 13 years focused almost exclusively on bluegrass and acoustic-based music.
Now, with Mosaic, Skaggs and Kennedy have created a mélange of sounds by incorporating an eclectic array of instruments including the mandolin, banjo, acoustic guitar, violin, percussion, hammered dulcimer, string section, bagpipe, bouzouki, electric guitar, keyboard, slide guitar and more.
To learn more about Ricky Skaggs, please visit: http://www.rickyskaggs.com/ or http://www.skaggsfamilyrecords.com/.
